Warning that Norfolk schools could face cash squeeze

Alison Thomas, cabinet member for children's services at Norfolk County Council.

Keith Whitmore +44 (0)7785 354701

Education funding reforms by the government are unfair to counties like Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire and could “cause lasting damage” to small schools and deprived areas, it has been claimed.

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Politicians from parties across Norfolk have united to call on ministers to review their plans for changes to the way money is distributed to primaries and secondaries.

Last night they said the government’s School Funding Reform proposals, which are supposedly the “next steps towards a fairer system”, had been created with urban-only areas in mind and did not take into account the needs of counties like Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire.

In response to the concerns raised by headteachers, governors and local councillors, Alison Thomas, county council cabinet member for children’s services, has written to education secretary Michael Gove.

In it she tells him his department’s attempts to simplify funding formulas and make the process more transparent will not lead to a fairer system for Norfolk.

She adds: “The over-simplicity of the schools block formula means that our ability to shape local education funding arrangements to reflect the diverse nature of communities has been severely restricted.

“In particular, this seems to have a significant effect on our small secondary schools and on those primary and secondary schools that serve more deprived parts of Norfolk.”

The county council’s concerns focus on three particular parts of the new funding arrangements:

Plans to have a single lump sum for all primary and secondary schools to support those who cannot survive on per-pupil funding alone. It is likely to mean small high schools in particular – like those in Norfolk’s rural areas – will lose out.

The need to set a single figure for per-pupil funding across primary schools which it believes will adversely affect those serving the youngest children and make it “difficult to provide the early intervention that remains an important part of early years education”.

The requirement to use specific measures of deprivation and prior attainment that are not capable of recognising the needs of schools in semi-rural and coastal areas where there are “localised pockets” of deprivation.

Speaking to the EDP, Mrs Thomas, pictured right, said the government seemed to think “it’s one size fits all or one pot will suit all” but she believes counties like Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, which have a mix of urban and rural communities, will be poorly served by the changes.

She said: “It’s early days but I think, if it goes ahead as it is proposed, it will put some schools under considerable financial pressure.”

Her letter adds: “I recognise that a minimum funding guarantee will apply in the short term but I hope that you will be able to support a review of the new funding arrangements before unintended consequences cause lasting damage.”

That call has been echoed by the county’s politicians in the Labour, Liberal Democrat and Green parties.

Mervyn Scutter, children’s services spokesman for the Lib Dems, said the plans seemed based on an assumption that parents could choose where to send their children and, if one school closed, an alternative would be readily available. “In rural Norfolk that’s not the case,” he said.

Sue Whitaker, Labour spokesman, said: “Rural counties with small schools often tend to struggle to all be viable. This is effectively saying ‘we don’t want you to be viable’.

“There doesn’t seem to be any recognition that schools operate in rural areas.”

Green party leader and children’s services spokesman Richard Bearman said he believed schools in deprived areas like Mile Cross in Norwich would lose out just as much as a rural community like Terrington St Clement.

He said: “The problem I have is the imposition by government of very dictatorial rules which don’t allow us to take account of our particular circumstances.”

The councillors agreed the government’s funding reform would serve to undo the work by Norfolk County Council to secure the future of its small schools by encouraging more formal link-ups and all-through schools.

In her letter, Mrs Thomas also raises concerns about the impact the funding reform would have on school swimming pools. The plans would mean schools with pools no longer received funds directly to help maintain them but would rely on primary schools in their cluster voluntarily contributing part of their budget.

The letter has been sent to Mr Gove, education minister David Laws, and all of Norfolk’s MPs.

Last night Elizabeth Truss, MP for South West Norfolk and newly-appointed minister for early years education, pictured left, said school funding reform plans had yet to be finalised.

She added: “Under the previous government, schools in different parts of the country were getting wildly different levels of funding and the system was very complicated. The department for education is working to make the system fair for everyone and as simple as possible for parents and teachers to understand.”

victoria.leggett@archant.co.uk

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This isn't about there not being enough money, it's simply about the existing funding being allotted differently. The Government think it's fairer, and it probably is when you live in a city, but for rural schools that have typically had their budgets allotted differently to account for small class sizes and unpredictable intakes, it doesn't work.

This isn't about there not being enough money, it's simply about the existing funding being allotted differently. The Government think it's fairer, and it probably is when you live in a city, but for rural schools that have typically had their budgets allotted differently to account for small class sizes and unpredictable intakes, it doesn't work.

This isn't about there not being enough money, it's simply about the existing funding being allotted differently. The Government think it's fairer, and it probably is when you live in a city, but for rural schools that have typically had their budgets allotted differently to account for small class sizes and unpredictable intakes, it doesn't work.

Yes, phew, thank goodness that Cllr Murphy has told the people of Norfolk that a nice wedge of the £200m cash stockpile that he's sitting on will be allocated to education.... unless its just a soundbite and an empty promise of course? Maybe Cllr Thomas would be good enough to surrender her babysitting allowance to help make up the shortfall?

.....Sue Whitaker, Labour spokesman, said: “Rural counties with small schools often tend to struggle to all be viable. This is effectively saying ‘we don’t want you to be viable’. .....They don't struggle councillor Sue Whitaker! A small Norfolk village primary school recently featured on EDP24 struggles so much it can only afford to pay a mean gross salary of £46,200 per full time teacher! Perhaps this is one of the struggling schools you had in mind?

The County Council are given the dosh by Central Government and are merely the paying agents passing the money on to the schools. And they have an absolute statutory duty to provide that money to those schools. So get on with it and stop whingeing. If there isn't enough money in the pot then organise some more or give up your fat overblown allowances and hand those over to the schools. The education of the children of Norfolk is far more important than a bunch of councillors.

This isn't about there not being enough money, it's simply about the existing funding being allotted differently. The Government think it's fairer, and it probably is when you live in a city, but for rural schools that have typically had their budgets allotted differently to account for small class sizes and unpredictable intakes, it doesn't work.

The County Council are given the dosh by Central Government and are merely the paying agents passing the money on to the schools. And they have an absolute statutory duty to provide that money to those schools. So get on with it and stop whingeing. If there isn't enough money in the pot then organise some more or give up your fat overblown allowances and hand those over to the schools. The education of the children of Norfolk is far more important than a bunch of councillors. And isn't there quarter of a billion quid in the coffers at County Hall Ms Thomas? Well?

East Anglian schools have always been underfunded-even in the mid 70s, comparing notes with friends who worked in schools in the Home Counties was a real eye opener. Governments are content for East Anglia to be net contributors to the national economy and not concerned that the region does not get a fair deal. East Anglian children in under funded schools have always struggled to perform as well in exams as in better funded areas and get labelled thick hicks as a result.Never mind blaming local councils the blame rests firmly with governments which curry votes in urban areas and assume voting patterns in rural areas are too fixed to bother with trying to buy them. If the money lashed about in Scotland, where 90% of households take more out of the public purse than they put in, was spent in East Anglia where a lot of it is earned then our children would get a fairer deal.